She is doing well!

Just a quick late night blog to update you. Mom is tired and very ouchy, but doing really well all things considered! They have her on some good pain meds, and were going to try and get her to swing her feet to the ground this afternoon. She is not looking forward to moving around as she is still in quite a bit of pain, but sounds like she has a good frame of mind to do what is required to get home to her ranch as quickly as possible. The doctor said everything went exactly as they thought it would, and she is healing nicely.

Keep those prayers coming! I know she feels every bit of it and we do too! Thank you to you all!

Love,

The Nolan's, Flaherty's & Jennings'

Good News!!

Mom is in recovery now after a 3 hour surgery! There was more scar tissue than they originally thought, and they did find another small abscess that they removed, but it looks like they were able to successfully reverse her colostomy! Mom will be beyond THRILLED when she wakes up and hears it was a go! Dr. Martin even "pressure tested it" which made my Dad giggle a little. I will have more information when he gets to go upstairs and talk to Mom herself, but if everything continues to go well (they are CLOSELY monitoring her blood sugar this time) she will spend a few days in the hospital and then within about a month she should be pretty close to back to normal! Praise the Lord!

Thank you all for your prayers and Love for our Mom! We are so blessed to have you all in our lives and I know Mom has felt every single prayer and good thought!

More to come in a few hours!

More Prayers needed for Mom's Surgery!

Hey all! Its been a great couple of months for the mama, and the long awaited colostomy reversal surgery has been scheduled for April 14th! This is her last real hurdle medically before she will be able to get back to a life pretty close to normal. As it is a few more days in the hospital, she is not looking forward to it and is a little nervous, which is really natural. The whole family would like ask for extra prayers to calm Mom's fears and give her some peace, skilled hands for the surgeon, and lots of great care in her nursing staff. We can't WAIT for Mom to be able to get rid of that lame old bag and get back to just enjoying her life again! Your prayers brought her this far, and we know they will get her through this next challenge and that God will deliver her safely, even better than when she started!

We will keep you posted but start your prayer engines going!

Thank you!

Love,
The Nolan, Flaherty and Jennings Families

Sorry its been so long!

This is the post for a time I didn't think I was going to get to make. Mom has been home almost 2 weeks now, and is doing AMAZING! She had an appointment with her surgeon on Monday who informed her she will have her colostomy reversed in 2 months. Since average time is 3-6 months she is way ahead of the curve and healing beautifully. She is still getting home care from a nurse, PT and OT but that will probably change to out patient soon with as good as she is doing. I am amazed daily on the progress she is making. Her memory is getting better all the time, and she is walking more and more without the walker. She is convinced she can drive already, but we're going to try and start her with the golf cart first. She is taking her own blood sugar, in charge of her own medication every day, and is starting to take back the paperwork and bills for the household and the TV shop. The woman I saw on January 10th and the woman I see today aren't even on the same planet. She is a walking miracle, and we are beyond excited and grateful. God is truly magnificent with his healing and blessings.

Tomorrow Matt and I are going to go home to San Francisco, and then on to Tahoe on Monday. I have been gone from home since December 18th, so I am looking forward to just nesting for awhile, not living out of a suitcase and not traveling anywhere for the whole month of February! I feel like I did what I could to help my Dad and my sister, as well as transition my Mom from the rehab center to home as best I could. I am leaving them with a pretty clean house, a VERY organized pantry, and even a new dog to keep her company as she continues recovery. (Roxie is seen in the picture above) I honestly feel very blessed as a daughter to have had this time with my Mom though. I always new she was an amazing woman, but now I am just in awe over what she can do when she puts her mind to it. I have always loved her as my Mom, but now I am equally impressed with her as a woman. As glad as I am to be going home with my hubby, I will miss the time I have had here in San Diego with my family. Again, God is SO good!

So, I am signing off the blog for now. I am going to set it up on their computer so that hopefully my Mom can continue to update you as she continues her amazing recovery. Thank you all, from the bottom of my very grateful heart, for all of your prayers and well wishes. We would not be here without you, period. My faith has been renewed times 10, and I am truly humbled by what I have witnessed the past few weeks. It is hard for me to even write this post without those grateful tears filling my eyes up. We are so blessed as a family, and we are so blessed to have each and every one of you in our lives! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

With all our Love,

Sara, Matt, Tom, Candy, Dana, Glenn, DJ, Alex, and Roxie

A note from Candy...

I'M HERE AT HOME TO TELL EACH OF YOU THANK YOU FOR PRAYING ME HOME !! I got to come home yesterday after more
than a month in the hospital !!! We are home with both daughters and husbands on the way here ..we are having Christmas this weekend
when Matt gets here so LIFE IS GOOD AT THE NOLAN'S THIS WEEKEND !!!!

I can tell you each and every one how we have felt the prayers and the love being sent !!! Your each so special to us and we are
blessed with your LOVE !!!

We feel so cared for and loved by each and everyone of you !!!!

THANK YOU FOR LOVING US AND SENDING YOUR THOUGHTS AND LOVE TO US!!!

We feel very loved and very special THANK YOU !!!!

THE NOLAN'S

TOM & CANDY

THE FLAHERTY'S

GLENN & DANA

THE JENNINGS
MATT & SARA

She is home!!

The mama is home, has had her first lunch at the ranch in over a month, and is settling down for a rest. Tonight she has requested In & Out Burger (we will start cooking her a healthy diet tomorrow) which Glenn will pick up on his way home from work and we will all eat together as a family. I am going to give the computer to her later so that she can type her first post on her blog to you all! Thank you to you all! We are beyond thrilled!

It's finally here...

...the day we thought would never come - Mom comes home TODAY! Sara and my Dad are getting ready to take one last long drive up to Palomar, and will be returning with an extra special passenger. After 34 days in the hospital, 2 major surgeries, 2 missed holidays, more IVs than we can count (and a partridge in a pear tree), we will finally be getting our Mom/Grammy/Wife home where she belongs.

I have such a range of emotion this morning. I am supremely thankful, eternally grateful and spiritually humbled by the events I've witnessed. The last few months have been a trying time for our family, and we have certainly been buoyed by the power of prayer. We are all *so* thankful for the outpouring of support you're given us, and just touched beyond measure. A mere "thank you" seems wholly inadequate, but that's all I've got at the moment... :-)

Hopefully we'll get Mom online and writing her own blog updates in the very near future! Until then, please know how truly grateful we are for your support; you all mean the world to us.

~ Dana